Are you shopping for a portable power station uk? Here are five things you should look for when making your purchase.
With advances in battery technology, portable power stations have the capacity and raw power to reliably power electronic devices that require far more power than conventional power banks can provide. While not as powerful as gas-fired generators, they are quieter, lighter, and don't need fuel to start powering.
So if you're looking for a quiet mobile device to power your smartphone, laptop, computer or TV, getting a portable power station might be the better solution. To help you find a quality power station, here are five things you should look for when buying a new power station.
Battery capacity.
Battery capacity is the most important specification you should look for when looking for a portable power station. The larger the battery capacity, the longer the device can run on each charge. So, in general, just buy the battery with the maximum capacity.
However, given size, weight, and cost, you may want to take a more calculated approach when considering the battery capacity of a portable power station.
Understanding battery capacity can be confusing because different manufacturers use different metrics to measure the battery capacity of their portable power stations. The most popular metrics used to measure battery capacity include mah(milliampere hour), ah(ampere-hour), Wh(watt-hour), and kWh(kilowatt-hour).
Electronic devices usually display their maximum power consumption in watt-hours, and you can find markers on various types of power supplies. If the power supply is rated in watts, remember that one watt equals one watt-hour.
To get a better idea of how long a portable power station can power your device, you first need to know its battery capacity (watt-hours). To do this, you can check its watt-hour rating. But if it only expresses battery capacity in milliamp-hours or amp-hours, you can use those numbers plus its rated system voltage (12V or 24V) to see its watt-hour rating.
Let's say your laptop is rated at a maximum of 90W or 90Wh, while a portable power station has a battery capacity of 40,000 mah on a 12-volt system. Using the table above, you will see that the battery capacity of the power station is 480Wh. If you divide that by the 90Wh used by the laptop, the expected run time is about 5 hours, before factoring in power cuts and other variables.
Battery technology.
Another important thing you should look for in a portable power station is battery technology or the type of battery it uses. The type of battery used in a portable power station largely determines the size, weight, cost, charging speed, and how long your power station can last before switching off AC power.
Lithium ion (Li-Ion), lithium polymer (Li-Po) and lead-acid batteries are the most commonly used batteries for portable power stations.
Lithium-ion batteries charge three times faster than lead-acid batteries and have the highest energy density of the three. Lithium-polymer batteries, on the other hand, have a lower energy density than lithium-ion batteries, but have fast charging capabilities and are generally safer to use than lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries. While lead-acid batteries are the most affordable of the three, they are also bulky, slow to charge, and have the lowest energy density.
If you are looking for a battery that is packaged, lighter and can be used frequently, lithium-ion batteries are generally worth the investment. But if you want a safer battery with a fast charge and the lowest passive discharge rate, then Li-Po battery power stations may be the better choice.
Lead-acid batteries are generally not recommended, but if you really need a cheap, disposable backup power station to use in an emergency, then a lead-acid power station should be sufficient.
Inverter technology.
Solar inverter.
Depending on which equipment you are trying to power, installing the right inverter in your portable power station can save battery power by keeping your fragile equipment free of damage and making them work as efficiently as possible.
A power inverter is an electronic component that converts DC (DC) of a battery into AC (AC). Direct current is used to charge battery-powered handheld devices such as phones, tablets and Bluetooth headsets, while alternating current is used to power more power-hungry devices such as laptops, computers, televisions and game consoles.
There are generally two types of power inverters: pure sine wave inverters and improved sine wave inverters. Pure sine wave inverters provide clean sine waves that generate AC, while improved sine wave inverters use pulse-width modulation (PWM), which makes the electronic signal attempt to mimic a pure sine wave signal.
If you are powering precision, precision, and highly sensitive equipment, having a pure sine wave inverter should be your only option. But if you're only going to use a power station to power your computer, monitor, game console and TV, then a power station with a converted sine wave inverter should work just fine, and save you quite a bit of money at the same time.
Peak and continuous wattage.
Peak and sustained wattage are also important specifications you should look for when buying a portable power station. While portable power stations are typically used to power computers, televisions and other electronic devices, they can also power refrigerators, wired power tools, electric fans and kitchen appliances such as blenders and food processors. However, these devices can only be powered by portable power stations if they have sufficient peak and sustained wattage.
Most power-hungry devices and appliances require a certain peak or surge watt to start and turn them on. Once switched on, they will require a lower but continuous supply of power, called continuous watts or rated watts.
Power input and output ports.
When it comes to portable power stations, you'll never have enough ports to charge and power your devices. This is especially true for charging ports powered by DC, since you can always use an extension cord to have more AC outlets.
We recommend a portable power supply with multiple USB and USB-C charging ports for your handheld device, a 12-V charging port for your Internet router, and at least 2 AC outlets. If you plan to store the power station in your car, you may also need an Anderson pole.
After looking at all the charging ports and outlets for a portable power station, you should also look for the ports used to charge the power station. These will include your regular AC, DC and solar charging ports and Anderson poles to charge your car.
